Northport business owner Carl Kosmo said gun sales at his store, The Outdoor Sportsman, have remained strong for the last two years. He also commented that more women are purchasing guns.

“More so than I’ve seen in 35 years of business,” remarked Kosmo. 

The Outdoor Sportsman is a hunting, fishing, archery and camping outfitter.

“We carry a complete line of outdoor gear to help you enjoy your sport. We also sell resident and nonresident hunting and fishing licenses,” said Kosmo. “We’re pretty much season to season and we carry those big-boy toys for Christmas and birthdays.”

Citizens, it would seem, are in a hurry to buy guns. More so in the face of the governments’ intention to go forward with more gun control legislation in the wake of the Connecticut school shootings.

Since 1791 when the Second Amendment was ratified the U.S. Government has saw fit to enact legislation not to control guns, but rather to limit the access of certain individuals. New gun control legislation, as is the case now, in the past has happened around prohibition, violence and political assassinations. For a complete chronological list of the legislation and the event go here.

Even President Obama is the first to admit that the government has not done all it could by not enforcing current legislation. In 2009, the FBI reported there were 79,000 instances of people lying on background checks to obtain a firearm. That is a federal offense. Still, the justice department only prosecuted 77 cases for that year. 

Kosmo felt the increased gun sales were the accumulation of a number of factors.

“Politics for one,” said Kosmo. “There are more and more incidences of crime in Maine where people want to own a gun for protection. And, it is a person’s right to own one.”

Kosmo said there are a lot of young women buying guns. Men and families follow. He also commented the there are many father/daughter and father/son individuals who are buying and taking firearm safety classes. Kosmo said he is selling more guns for personal protection than for sport.

Purchasing a handgun is easy, but not as simple as it might sound. There’s a federal form that needs to be filled out and approved. The information is called into the FBI in Washington D.C. There were stories about Black Friday that rumored the call volume was so heavy it shut down the system.

Kosmo commented that it was not the volume of calls overwhelming the call center. He said he spent a long time on hold that day, but in reality it was a holiday and a lot of people didn’t come to work, not that it was overwhelmed by the volume. He felt the system functioned as it was intended.

It is a felony to lie on the federal application. The government can do one of three things. It can approve the form, deny it, or delay it. A delay usually involves the need for additional information. The government can delay your application for up to four business days. 

“.12 gauge shotguns are the most popular for home defense,” said Kosmo. “Women purchase the smaller caliber handguns, .380 or 9 mm. Men go for the larger caliber handguns .357, .44 and .45 caliber. Military styled firearms are very popular for target shooting, but are not a practical home defense weapon." 

Though it is not a requirement, Kosmo suggests that you take a firearms safety class before or at the time you purchase your gun.

“You need to know how the gun functions,” said Kosmo. “There are safety issues and handling. You should know how to disassemble the gun, how to put it back together and be familiar with the parts. You suggest a firearm’s safety class if they have no experience, they need an understanding of how the gun operates.”

You can also take a class for a concealed weapons permit at The Outdoor Sportsman. The permit allows you carry the firearm out of sight and on your person, or in your car. The firearms safety course is a prerequisite for the concealed weapons permit.    

A permit must be approved by the chief of police in the town or city you live in. According to the Camden Police Department, there are 79 people with valid permits to carry a concealed weapon. The Rockland Police Department said it has 83 concealed weapons permits on file.

The cost for the one day class is $75.

On Jan. 16, President Obama set forth an agenda to try and curb guns from falling into the wrong hands. Based on recommendations from a study conducted by Vice President Joe Biden, Obama signed 23 executive actions following his remarks on new gun control action. It would be the biggest push for new controls in decades.

One of the initiatives would expand background checks to include all gun sales and not just those at stores. This would include gun shows where a person is not required to undergo a background check to buy a weapon. However, a person licensed to sell firearms within a state would still be required to do a background check even if he or she were at a gun show and selling a firearm under that shop's license.

The National Instant Criminal Background Check System, which firearm dealers must use to check gun buyers before a sale can be made, is severely lacking. Information is not being uploaded by states to keep the system current. People with mental health issues and known drug offenders, who are not allowed to purchase firearms, are not being reported. One of President Obama’s initiatives is to appoint a head for the ATF (Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms), which oversees gun sales. It is hoped that with an appointment, that agency can push states to supply information on a more timely basis.

David Berez of Camden and owner of Post Office Editorial at 18 Elm Street used the Camden Rockport Middle School over the Christmas break to produce a public service video to promote gun control.

Nine children who were around the same age as those killed at Sandy Hook took turns sitting in a seat while the camera rotated around them answering a set of question. Berez said the video would be edited together using pieces of the children’s dialog to form a single question.

Daniel Stephens, one of the people working on the video, said the idea was to create a simple shoot that creates an unsettling feeling.

“It is disorienting because the background is moving and it forces you to focus on the child’s face,” he said.

Berez said the intent of the PSA was not to promote gun control, but rather to push the development of a dialog.

“The further we get from the event the more the impact will diminish until it happens again,” he said.

Geoff Parker said, “we haven’t seen anything else that empowers these kids to ask these questions.”

Berez said the PSA will be released for free to any advocacy group who wants to use it.